William west



No. 770,485. PATENTED SEPT. 20, 1904. W. WEST.

SPICE BOX.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.13. 1904.

N0 MODEL INVENTDH. LZZLUUTL W914i BY I A TTORIIEY.

UNITED STATES Patented September 20, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE;

SPICE-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 770,485, dated September 20, 1904. Application filed January 13, 1904. Serial No. 188,894. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM WEST, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Camden, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spice-Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a top plan view. Fig. 2 is a section on line a: m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view showing the rotatable disk in a different position from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and the disk of paper partially broken away. Fig. i is a section on line y y, Fig. 3.

This invention relates to that class of caps or covers for spice and other boxes in which there is a head or plate adapted to be secured to the end of the box and having an opening therein and a rotatable disk superposed on said plate and having an opening or openings which areadapted to be brought into and out of registry with the opening in said plate by suitably rotating said disk, so that whenthe respective openings are not in registry that or those of the plate or head will be closed, and when in registry the same will be open and the contents of the box be permitted to escape when the box is inverted.

The invention relates to certain novel features hereinafter described and particularly pointed out and which are designed to improve the construction and operation of devices of said class.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 is a circular head or plate, preferably of tin, which is formed with a peripheral flange 2, the lower part of which extends below the body of the plate and the upper part extends above the latter and is bent, as seen in Fig. 2, in inverted-U shape, leavingaspace 3 between its free extremity and the body of the plate.

This plate has also a segment or other shape opening. Superposed upon said plate is a rotatable disk 5, also preferably of tin, of somewhat less diameter than the former and whose peripheral portion projects into the space 3,

which portion is sprung upwardly, as seen in Fig. 2, so as to bring the same into contact with the free end 2 of the U bend of the flange 2, whereby the disk is maintained in spring-contact with the plate 1. Said disk has struck up therefrom a central boss 6, with which engages a similar central boss 7 of the plate 1. The latter has also in the present instance an annular stiffening rib or shoulder 8, with which engages a like shoulder 9 of the disk 5. This disk has a series or group of perforations or dredge-holes 10 and also a segment-opening 11, corresponding to the like opening 4 of said plate, which perforations and opening 11 are shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Said disk has also struck up therefrom a projection 12 on its upper side, and preferably elongated and extending radially, as shown, and also a projection 13 on its lower side, whose ends are beveled, as seen in Fig. 4:, the first projection .12 being for convenience in rotating the disk and the second, 13, for the purpose of a stop to maintain the disk in place when in position to close the opening 4:, as hereinafter described.

Plate or head 1 is secured to the box 14: by the usual or any suitable means. In the present instance an annulus 15, having an internally-projecting flange 16, is firmly secured to the end of the box, and the plate 1 being of suitable diameter is forced into said annulus and rests upon the flange 16, as seen in Fig. 2, the said flange forming a stop that limits the distance that said plate can be entered into the end of the box. The annulus having the flange 16 serves also, in connection with the plate 1., to secure a disk 17, of paper or other frangible material, whose peripheral part is laid upon the top of said flange 16, and the plate 1 is forced down upon the paper disk, whereby the latter is clamped between the said plate and flange. The purpose of the paper disk is to prevent any possibility of powdered substances contained in the box (when the latter is in transit or before the contents are to be used) from finding their way out between plate 1 and the disk 5.

When the contents of the box are to be used, the paper disk is ruptured by the finger or some implement passed through the opening in the plate, the corresponding opening in the disk 5 being of course first brought into registry with the opening of the plate. I

The construction of my invention being as above described, the mode of operation thereof is as follows: Normally the disk 5 will have been rotated to a position to cover the opening 4, as in Fig. 3,- so as to prevent accidental escape of the contents of the box in transit or otherwise through the said opening and an opening in disk 5. When, however, it is desired to remove some of the contents of the box, the disk 5 is rotated by pressure of the finger against the projection 12, so as to bring the segment-opening 11 or the dredge-holes 10, as may be desired, into registry in whole or in part, as in Fig. 1, with the opening 4 of plate 1. The projection 13 bears against the top of said plate when the disk 5 is not in position to entirely close the opening 4; but when the the disk 5 is rotated to the closing position said projection will have passed beyond a side edge of the said opening 4, as seen in Fig. 3, and by virtue of the elasticity of the peripheral part of the disk, which, it will be remembered, bears against the downturned end of flange 2, said projection will be caused to project beyond the plane of plate 1, and thus form a stop against the side wall of the opening 4. (See Fig. 4.) The length of the projection 18 with relation to the width of said opening is such, as shown, that one end of the projection will stop against one of the side walls of the opening and the other end against the opposite side wall before the disk can be rotated to any extent from the closing to the opening position. The ends of the projection 13 being beveled, as before mentioned, when the disk is forcibly rotated to carry it to the opening position the projection will readily ride up onto plate 1.

The purpose of the bosses 6 and 7 is to constitute a central hub on which the disk 5 may rotate and also to maintain the latter concentric with the plate 1. Theythe said bosses may, however, be dispensed with, in which case the disk would be maintained in the concentric position by the concentric shoulders 8 and 9. Either said bosses or shoulders, or both, may, however, be omitted, in which case the disk would be kept substantially or sufficiently concentric with the plate by the flange 2 of the latter; nor is it essential, although preferable, that the flange 2 of plate 1 shall extend below the body of the said plate.

Having th us described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A cover for spice-boxes, &c. comprising the plate having the opening therein and having the peripheral flange, provided with the inwardly and downwardly turned portion and the rotatable disk superposed on said plate and having its peripheral part in yielding frictional engagement with said inwardly and downwardly turned portion of said flange, and having an opening adapted to register with the opening in said plate, and having also the projection for rotating said disk, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A cover for spice-boxes comprising the plate having an opening therein and having the peripheral flange provided with the inwardly and downwardly turned portion, and the rotatable disk superposed upon said plate having its peripheral part in yielding frictional engagement with said inwardly and downwardly turned portion of said flange, and having an opening adapted to register with the opening in said plate, and having the projection for rotating said disk and also the stop projection on its under side adapted to abut against the side walls respectively of said opening of the plate for retaining the disk in the position closing the opening in said plate, substantially as set forth.

3. In a cover for spice-boxes, &c., the combination of the plate, having an opening therein, and the peripheral flange; the disk rotatably mounted on said plate and having an opening adapted to register with the opening in said plate, the annulus having the internal flange, and the frangible disk clamped between said plate and the'flange of said annulus, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. Acover for spice-boxes, &c. comprising the plate having an opening therein, and having the peripheral flange provided with the inwardly and downwardly turned portion, and having the central boss, and the rotatable disk superposed on said plate, and having its peripheral part in yielding frictional engagement with said inwardly and downwardly turned portion of said flange, and having an opening adapted to register with the opening in said plate, and having the central boss fitting into the corresponding boss of said. plate, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

' 5. A cover for spice-boxes comprising the annulus having the internal flange, the plate having the opening therethrough and the vertically-elongated peripheral flange frictionally engaging the inner periphery of said annulus; together with the disk rotatably mounted on said plate and having an opening adapted to register with the opening in said plate, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto af- ITO fixed my signature this 31st day of Decem- 7 her, A. D. 1903. I

WILLIAM WEST. Witnesses:

GEO. L. Born,

WALTER O. PUsEY. 

